Why I am a vegan.....

About a year ago, Kim said something to me about PETA that made me curious. I can't remember what it was exactly, probably not flattering, but to be honest I hadn't really ever heard about them so I did a search on them. That is one of the marvels of this era in mans history, that very little can be kept secret. You can get information on just about anything. Anyway, a search of the name PETA brought up a wealth of information. There were blogs that mentioned them in passing, there were news articles talking about them, there were newsletters run buy them, and there were undercover videos taken by them. The saying is that a picture is worth a thousand words, and the stories that those videos told broke my heart. It only took a day or two and I made a decision that has changed my life, my cooking, my attitude about so many things. That is why I am a vegan today and will be til I die. Those first few videos were only a start as I found myself unable to turn away from the pain and suffering that I saw and read about. It continued for many months and the images became imprinted in my brain, the frightened little calves, the chickens with no feathers and crippled legs, the tiny piglets tossed aside like garbage, the horses standing against rodeo rails with broken legs dangling.......the list is absolutely endless. I have no cravings for things like ice cream or chocolate, butter on corn or any of the multitude of foods that come from the human use of animals because I see that pain burned onto my brain. I've had occasion to speak of my feelings to Don, trying to explain to him how I am hurt when friends have made a thoughtless joke about eating dogs (I love our dogs!), and my voice breaks up as the tears begin to flow just in the telling.

Next to the terrible sadness that I live with and the empathy that causes my own suffering at their pain, the hardest thing is finding a way to reconcile in my mind, that very few people feel the same way about this. While we recoil in horror at the newspaper story that tells of someone dragging an animal to its death or shudder at the notion that someone would let their animals starve to death, or feel irritation that the neighbor lets their dog run loose in the neighborhood and give birth to one litter after another without regard for the thousands upon thousands of dogs that are killed every day in shelters across the country, sympathy rarely makes the transfer to all the other animals that suffer miserable pain filled existences that are so horrendous, that if we knew of someone doing those things to a pet cat or a pet dog, the SPCA would be called promptly and charges would be filed. Somehow, food animals, fur animals, medical use animals deserve no sympathy, no care, no compassion.

The opening days of Creation were apparently idyllic, the people walked in the garden and the animals had no fear of them, and according to the Bible, the new earth will see the lion lay down with the lamb but in the time between, we see man laying waste to this beautiful jewel of a planet. Would it not make more sense for believers to seek that vision now, that God apparently has for the world? And for those who aren't Christian but are spiritual seekers, what of a desire to live in harmony with the earth and all the beings that walk upon it? One of my favourite quotes was by the Buddha where he said "When a man has pity on all living creatures, then only is he noble". I think it is time for man to climb down from the pedestal that he has so happily placed himself on for nobility is not a trait that is evident when it comes to the kind of treatment that is accorded almost every species on this planet. And don't get me wrong, I do realize that there are many people who work hard to care for animals and provide them with the support that is necessary for them to recover from their interaction with people. The Tennessee Elephant Refuge is a prime example as is Dogtown USA, or the Lange Foundation in California. But these kinds of places are the exception rather than the rule.

In the early days of my change, I struggled with a very real, very hard to live with anger about all of this and out of that anger, I sought out support and understanding on several different forums. One forum was for veg'ns only and the other was a spiritual forum. At one point I was also spending time on a couple horse forums, but found that there was a total lack of care for the horses that wind up being shipped to slaughter. I ran into trouble with those who had racetrack connections as well as the backyard breeders who were willing to consign horses to the slaughterhouse if only they could enjoy the sight of a baby horse of their own cavorting in the back yard. And the racetrack folks were angry at the suggestion that their search for the next winner was the cause of a multitude of horses winding up in that horrific situation of facing the bolt gun and all the terror and suffering that that would cause them. For all their "love" of horses, they needed slaughter houses to get rid of their excess.

The spiritual forum was an experience! What amazed me was that it was necessary to argue for compassion and that I did in a thread that went on for over 800 posts. And while that thread began as the question, "does meat eating affect ones spiritual growth?", it ultimately covered all of the issues from spirituality, to the effects on your body from eating meat, to how does one get all ones nutritional needs met, to the effect of meat production on the health of our planet home. It covered everything and for every argument that I presented, I supplied links and information to back it up. But in the last week the discussion has finally begun to expire. Everything that could be said, has been. I can only hope that one person out of all those that participated is thinking seriously about the issues. As for the needs that first took me to that forum, i.e. how do I reconcile my feelings with the way things are in the world, I suppose the best I can say is that I have become a bit numb and can look away so that I don't feel battered and bloodied every time I am confronted with thoughtless remarks from friends about eating my dog or.....?

In the weeks to come, I hope to share some of my ideas and philosophies on living a life of compassion for the animals that share the earth with us. And I'll tell you of the information that I've come across that should not only make you think, but even inspire a fear for the planet unless our lifestyles change, and I believe there are some very legitimate concerns that we should all be aware of. So til then.....